‘Broad City’ Season 4 Will Finally Reveal the Origin Story

Comedy fans, get ready: It’s time for the return of Broad City. The hit Comedy Central series became sort of the alt-Girls when it premiered in 2014 and has permeated popular culture the way few other female-led series have.

After more than a year off the air, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson’s hilarious characters are back, and things are a little bit different this time around. Here’s everything we know about what’s to come in Season 4.

A different time of year

Ilana Glazer | Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Season 4 differentiates itself from the first three in a few different ways. One of them is the time of year. The show has always aired in the spring and featured the characters in New York in the summer, but this time, it airs in the fall and takes place in the winter.

“The show is known as a sweaty, stinky, summer show,” Glazer said about choosing to set Season 4 in a different, ahem, season. “There [are] such different stories — it’s such a different New York, winter New York.”

A more mature look

Broad City | Comedy Central

While the onscreen Ilana and Abbi of the past considered themselves “woke,” they’ve grown up a bit in this new season. In her review of the first three episodes of the new season for The Ringer, Alison Herman explains:

The good news is that Glazer, Jacobson, and the rest of the Broad City crew seem aware of the hurdles they face and have pushed themselves into new territory accordingly. Broad City’s fourth season is the most grounded the show’s ever been, infused with a newfound sense of maturity, but still able to reach new heights of live-action cartoon absurdism when it needs to.

Their origin story

The fictional Ilana Wexler and Abbi Abrams are best friends when we meet them in Season 1. But the first episode of Season 4 reveals their long-awaited origin story, titled “Sliding Doors” (and is an homage to the film of the same name).

“We wrote that for the finale of the first season. Amy Poehler, actually, was like, ‘Don’t do it … this is too early,’” said Glazer. In the end, they were happy that they held off. “It’s funnier now … it’s so much more rewarding,” she stated.

The president gets no voice

In Season 3, Ilana and Abbi meet their personal heroine, Hillary Clinton, who was campaigning to be the Democratic nominee for president at the time. Now, in a very different world, the characters (and their real-life counterparts) are forced to deal with the reality of our political climate.

One way in which they channel their frustrations? By not giving a name to the man now in the Oval Office. At the Television Critics Association summer press tour in July, Glazer told reporters that saying his name over and over “sounds so gross,” and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of more airtime. “He’s got enough, and I also don’t even want to hear the word,” she said. “It’s a different kind of joke.”

They’re moving forward

In reacting to all that has happened over the last year and a half, some concessions had to be made. While gaining maturity, the show becomes a bit less “zeitgeisty” and a bit more reflective.

One way in which the characters have changed is their new jobs. A significant period of time has passed, and they’re floundering less than before. These young women are now a little older and, ostensibly, wiser.

The real Abbi and Ilana

Jacobson and Glazer have now been working together for eight years. Though Broad City has been renewed through Season 5, the pair have spent their hiatus working on separate projects.

Glazer starred alongside an ensemble cast in this summer’s dark comedy, Rough Night. Jacobson has done voice acting for BoJack Horseman and the upcoming Lego Ninjago Movie and also starred in an indie drama, Person to Person, earlier this year.

Memorable guest stars

As it became more and more popular, Broad City started to bring in some heavy hitting guest stars. Though none can top the aforementioned Clinton cameo, the trailer gave us a sneak peak at a few other memorable faces we’ll be seeing this season.

Jump to 45 seconds in and you’ll see in quick succession: RuPaul, Steve Buscemi, and Wanda Sykes. Other noted guest stars include Fran Drescher and Shania Twain.